John N. Lipsitz, Esq, is a founding partner of Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford. Since 1985, he has represented workers suffering from industrial diseases, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. He has also represented plaintiffs in a variety of occupational disease cases, which were the first of their kind in New York State, including lawsuits for chronic beryllium disease. Shortly after Mr. Lipsitz was admitted to practice in New York State in 1979, he was hired by Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York, as a staff attorney. He represented state prison inmates in various matters concerning the conditions of their confinement, including free speech rights and the free exercise of religion.  After representing inmates for three years, he became an instructor at the University at Buffalo Law School, teaching clinical practice courses in consumer bankruptcy, occupational safety and health law, constitutional rights and habeas corpus.

“I started my legal career representing state prison inmates. They have very few rights, but we fought very hard to protect those rights and to defend their dignity as human beings. In 1985, I began representing injured workers in claims against the manufacturers of dangerous products, and I brought to that struggle my desire for fair treatment and respect for human dignity.”

During his thirty-one years of legal practice, Mr. Lipsitz has represented clients in a wide variety of cases, including class actions to vindicate constitutional rights and to preserve lifetime health insurance benefits for union retirees.

In addition to his experience trying numerous cases in front of juries, Mr. Lipsitz has briefed and argued numerous appeals before state and federal appellate courts and has handled hundreds of motions on significant legal issues in New York State trial courts.

John and his wife, Maria, have three children.  In his spare time, Mr. Lipsitz enjoys reading and traveling.